Menu

REA, Innovas and PwC team up to produce industry-leading market report

REA, Innovas and PwC have teamed up to produce an industry-leading market report providing key statistics on the renewable energy industry.

Published on Apr 30, 2014

The renewable energy industry has attracted almost £30 billion of private sector investment since 2010. This investment has enabled the industry to sustain over 100,000 jobs in 2013 and deliver 4.2% of UK energy. These are the findings of a new report published today by the REA:REview – Renewable Energy View: 2014.

REview features analysis on:

The growth of renewables in the energy mix, by the REA

Jobs and turnover in the renewable energy industry, by Innovas

Investment in renewable energy projects, by PwC.

REview builds on the REA's 2012 report Renewable Energy: Made in Britain, the first industry-wide analysis of employment in the UK renewable energy industry and will be formally launched this evening by Energy Minister Greg Barker in the House of Commons.

Renewable electricity generation has grown steadily, increasing on average by 20.3% year-on-year between 2009 and 2013.

Renewable heat generation has grown steadily, increasing on average by 11.3% year-on-year between 2009 and 2012 (the last full year for which data are available).

Biofuel consumption has increased on average by 3.8% year-on-year between 2009 and 2013, although this growth has been erratic, with consumption actually decreasing in some years.

Employment: jobs down since 2011 due to policy changes, but new job growth expectedAnalysis by Innovas reveals that:

103,000 people were employed across the UK renewable energy value chain in 2012/13.

In 2010/11, at the height of the growth in small scale solar power, the REA estimated that there were 25,000 jobs in solar power, and 110,000 jobs in renewables overall. On this basis, there were 7,000 fewer jobs in renewables overall in 2012/13 than in 2010/11.

Turnover in the renewable energy industry stood at £14 billion in 2012/13, up £1.5 billion from 2010/11.

John Sharp, Director of Innovas, said:"The renewable energy sector continues to grow steadily, which is particularly welcome at a time when there have been many challenges to the UK economy and when energy security issues are coming to the fore again. None of this growth should be taken for granted as the recent changes in the levels of support for the solar PV sector have shown."What is encouraging is that much of the growth is being felt in the UK regions outside of the South East, anchoring jobs in regions and rural areas where good quality long term employment prospects in the renewable energy sector are contributing to improvements in the economic, social and community wellbeing of these areas."

£29.8 billion was invested in UK renewables between 2010 and 2013, of which:

£27.7 billion was invested in renewable electricity

£1.4 billion was invested in renewable heat (up to 2012, the last full year for which data are available)

£0.7 billion was invested in renewable transport fuel production.

£64.4 billion is expected to be invested in renewables by 2020 in order to achieve Government projections for renewable electricity and heat.

£40.8 billion is expected to be invested in renewable electricity between 2014 and 2020.

£23.6 billion is expected to be invested in renewable heat between 2013 and 2020.

Ronan O'Regan, Head of Renewable Energy at PwC, said:"Our analysis highlights the mixed fortunes for investors in different forms of renewable energy. With recent historical investment dominated by renewable electricity, investment in renewable heat has been modest in comparison and this market requires a rapid scale up in investment levels if we are to achieve our overall 2020 renewable energy targets."In the renewable electricity market, while offshore wind continues to be the most invested in technology, the rise of the UK solar market from nowhere in 2010 to now over £2 billion a year of investment, has been a highlight. On a regional basis, per capita investment in Scotland was more than twice that in England and three times than in Northern Ireland and Wales, reflecting the dominance of onshore wind in Scotland."Overall, investment of circa £65 billion is required to meet Government's deployment projections for renewable heat and electricity to 2020, which looks achievable based on current investment levels, although it will require clear ongoing policy support to ensure investors have the confidence to continue to invest."